COMPERJ – The largest industrial undertaking
Rio de Janeiro’s Petrochemical Complex (COMPERJ) will be the largest industrial undertaking in the history of Petrobras and Brazil, and one of the largest in the world in terms of investments, which will total US$ 8.5 billion. Due to come onstream in 2012 and to be completed in 2013, COMPERJ will mark Petrobras’ return to the petrochemical sector in grand style. After almost two decades of reduced participation in firstgeneration industries, in line with decisions of former governments seeking to boost the private sector, the company, through COMPERJ, intends to increase Brazil’s heavy oil refining capacity, to reduce import requirements of by-products such as naphtha and petrochemical products, to produce second-generation products for the internal and external markets, and to revolutionize the socio-economic profile of the complex’s entire sphere of influence. This will enable Brazil to achieve annual savings of over two billion dollars in foreign exchange and 200 million dollars in taxes.
COMPERJ will increase the Brazilian capacity to refine heavy oil and will reduce naphtha imports
“It must be kept in mind that petrochemical plants use raw materials such as petrochemical naphtha, of which there is a worldwide shortage and which in Brazil doesn’t exist with the degree of paraffin content required by these plants. Natural gas, also used, has not yet reached levels to meet the demands of thermoelectric plants, industries in general, vehicles, private homes, and businesses in Brazil. Therefore, the use of heavy oil as a raw material in such plants by COMPERJ will represent a major advantage, as it will be possible to process this oil, of which there are abundant supplies in Brazil, to produce propylene and ethylene directly. These are raw materials that will be converted into petrochemical products, which will then be transformed into consumer goods by industries attracted to the region surrounding the Itaboraí-based plant in the state of Rio de Janeiro. It will give added value to the Brazilian heavy oil produced in the Campos Basin, which, if exported, would be sold at lower prices abroad than in Brazil, as it is light oil that is worth more on the international market. In addition, it will reduce our imports of naphtha, used in the petrochemical complexes of Capuava, Camaçari, and Copesul, for example,” explains Petrobras’ director of Supply, Paulo Roberto Costa.
Representatives of Petrobras, Ultra Group, and BNDES celebrate the partnership that will generate COMPERJ
The result of a joint operation involving Petrobras, Grupo Ultra, BNDES, and possibly some minority shareholders, COMPERJ will have the processing capacity for 150,000 bpd of Brazilian heavy oil. In a single industrial complex, it will bring together a First-Generation Refining Unit, or Basic Petrochemical Unit, for the production of basic petrochemical products including ethylene, propylene, benzene, and paraxylene; a series of second-generation units, which will transform the basic products into petrochemical products such as styrene, ethylene glycol, polyethylene, polypropylene, and PTA, destined for the internal market (70%) and the external market (30%); and a Utilities Plant, responsible for supplying water, vapor, and electrical energy for the whole complex. Moreover, third-generation or transformation industries will be attracted to the complex to set up business in the surrounding area, in order to transform petrochemical products into consumer items, such as cups, plastic bags, components for automobile assembly plants, and household electrical appliances industries.
Petrochemical complexes will benefit from the reduction in naphtha imports
Social and environmental responsibility will be a commitment in the complex. “In the social sphere, thanks to trade agreements signed with the United Nations Organization, the Federation of Industries of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the Getulio Vargas Foundation, and institutions such as the National Industrial Apprenticeship Service and the National Commercial Apprenticeship Service, as well as universities and 11 city halls, we will have a minimum impact on the surrounding area and be in a position to guarantee the necessary infrastructure. Since COMPERJ will generate over 200,000 direct and indirect jobs with an income effect during the construction work, as well as over 50,000 jobs after the complex comes onstream, we will train the labor force in the region and in the neighboring municipalities to work on the construction and the maintenance of the complex. Working in partnership with city halls, we will create integration centers in all of the municipalities around the complex and will train 30,000 professionals in 78 types of free courses. Of these courses, 78% will involve basic instruction, 21% technical level training, and 1% university level qualification. The coordination of the training will be in São Gonçalo,” states Paulo Roberto Costa.
Petrobras will train the neighboring labor force to work in COMPERJ, which will generate more than 250,000 jobs
Third-generation industries that will transform petrochemical products into consumer goods, such as plastic cups and bags, will be attracted to the COMPERJ vicinity
